Standoff
How America Became Ungovernable
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
Bill Schneider, former CNN senior political analyst, takes us inside the voting booth in “a detailed examination of recent presidential elections studded with sharp observations…A good choice for political junkies” (Kirkus Reviews).
In the 1960s, a rift developed between the Old America and the New America that resulted in a populist backlash that ultimately elected Donald Trump in 2016. Bill Schneider describes today’s American populism in Standoff as one that is economically progressive and culturally conservative. Liberals are attacked as cultural elitists (“limousine liberals”), and conservatives as economic elitists (“country club conservatives”). Trump, says Schneider, is the complete populist package. He embraces social populism (anti-immigrant), economic populism (anti-free trade), and isolationism (“America First”).
Standoff examines a number of hard-fought elections to show us how we got to Trump. He asserts the power of public opinion. He points to the public that draws the line on abortion and affirmative action. He shows why an intense minority cancels a majority on gun control, immigration, small government, and international interests. Standoff tells us why fifty years of presidential contests have often been confounding. It takes us inside to watch how and why Americans pull the lever, how they choose their issues, and select their leaders. It is usually values that trump economics.
Required reading for an understanding of the 2016 election and the political future, Schneider’s “fast-paced” (Publishers Weekly) Standoff shows how Americans vote and why their votes sometimes seem to make no practical sense.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Schneider (The Confidence Gap), a George Mason professor of policy and government, explores the widening gap between America's two political parties, from the 1960s through the election of Donald Trump, in this fast-paced but disappointing book. Staying on the national level, he emphasizes that "today presidential elections lead; state and local elections follow." The book is best in its first chapters, which consist of standalone essays on topics such as populism, healthcare reform, and public opinion, before shifting gears into analyses of successful and unsuccessful attempts to shift party power during presidential elections. Examples of the successful include the historic victories of Kennedy in 1960 and Obama in 2008; examples of the unsuccessful include the defeats of Barry Goldwater in 1964 and Mitt Romney in 2012. Schneider concludes by looking at how Donald Trump broke "all the rules for a presidential candidate." These chapters move apace through history and political issues, providing only bare-bones context. Many of the observations sound intriguing, but demand deeper examination than they get ("The great disconnect in American politics today is between public opinion, which longs for unity, and politics, which thrives on division"). The best of Schneider's insights provoke thought, but readers will come to the end of his book still not knowing "how America became ungovernable."
